Merit Commission DID meet in June, but legally?

Recently, I wrote that the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission did not meet in June.

I was wrong.

Thanks to "Frmr Commisioner" (sic) who wrote a Comment on Cal Skinner's McHenry County Blog's article about the Scott Milliman firing, I learned that the Merit Commission actually did meet in June.

When I looked at the online June calendar of board and commission meetings (co.mchenry.il.us), I had looked only on the date of the Regular Meeting of the Merit Commission. It meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30AM. Those are the Regular Meetings. The June 8th meeting is marked Cancelled, and there is no notation that it was re-scheduled.

However, if you look in the June 15th calendar box, you see the Merit Commission listed and, if you click on Agenda, you can see the agenda for that meeting. This must have been a Special Meeting, but it is not so marked. The Executive Session on the agenda does not mean that there was an Executive Session; it serves as a placeholder, in case they decide to have an Executive Session. Personally, I don't like that way of doing business, but some organizations get away with it.

Can a public body just move meetings around willy-nilly? No, I don't think so. The public would have a hard time keeping up with changes of this type. When you see that a monthly meeting is canceled and there is no note that it is re-scheduled, then it's off the calendar for that month, like so many other Merit Commission meetings.

Did the Merit Commission violate the Open Meetings Act by this action? There's a good way to find out.

Let's see; where's that coin? Heads, a letter about an Open Meetings Act violation goes to the McHenry County State's Attorney (which upheld a previous complaint I made about an OMA violation by the Merit Commission). Or Tails, a letter goes to the Public Access Counselor at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

Merit Commission terms - sometimes short

My attention was drawn to the webpage for the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission recently. Five members of the community serve, and the current Commission has not had a fresh face in eight years.

The current members are:

Janelle Crowley, Chair (since 05/17/94)
Patrick McAndrews (since 8/3/99)
Gloria Urch (since 4/1/01)
Bill Mack (since 8/20/02)
Brian Goode (since 8/20/02)

Profiles for three of the commissioners can be viewed at www.co.mchenry.il.us/departments/sheriff/Pages/MComm.aspx

Profiles for Bill Mack and Brian Goode are noticeably absent from the webpage. One would think that in eight years somebody at the Sheriff's Department ought to be able to collect a few details and post them. Wouldn't you think?

Oh, yes; the shortest term? Alvin Querhammer served from "18 May 1993" to "1 May 1993." How did he do that? (He must have been well-liked, because he served again from "1 Apr 1994"to "1 Apr 2000".)

Merit Commission OKs pocket folders

Yesterday the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission met.

What monumental business did they have before them, other than approving Minutes of the April meeting (finally!)?

They were requested to approve a $1,333 expenditure for 1,000 attractive pocket folders in which employment information would be sent to those inquiring about jobs (make that one job) as a deputy with the Sheriff's Department.

At the recent testing for patrol deputies, more than 300 applicants went through written and physical testing. All this, and there are no positions open! There might be three positions open, should present employees retire.

The question I had, but didn't ask since I'm not on the Commission, is why spend even $1,333 to buy pocket folders, when information could merely be stapled and stuffed into a flat 9x12 envelope and mailed to a candidate. Adding the shiny pocket folder must add at least one ounce to the mailing weight of a packet.

I don't know what percentage of inquiries result in applications? 75% maybe? Some will receive the information and never return it. So the money spent to send it is down the drain.

Better yet, put the forms into .pdf format and publish them online with instructions to a candidate to download the forms, if s/he wished to apply for a job.

How much did the written and physical testing cost MCSD for this round? Let's say it was just $50 each. $50 x 300 = $15,000, and that doesn't include the secretarial and administrative personnel at the department.

When you don't have any jobs open, there must be a better way!

Merit Commission Members - who are they?

The Sheriff's Department Merit Commission is a five-member commission of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department charged with this purpose:

"To ensure the citizens of McHenry County that there is a fair and equal opportunity system for the employment, promotion, discipline and discharge of full-time Deputy Sheriffs."

Last week's Regular Meeting, which could not be held for lack of a quorum, has been re-scheduled to this Friday morning, October 23, 8:30AM. The Commission meets on the second floor of the Administration Building at 667 Ware Road. Meetings are open to the public.

Commission members include Janelle Crowley (Chair), Brian Goode, William Mack, Patrick McAndrews and Gloria Urch.

The terms of appointment (expiration dates of current terms) for the Commissioners are
Patrick McAndrews, 6-30-2010
Brian Goode, 4-01-2011
Gloria Urch, 4-01-2012
William Mack, 4-01-2014
Janelle Crowley, 4-30-2015

Backgrounds of three Commissioners (Crowley, Urch and McAndrews) are described on the Sheriff's Department Merit Commission website at
http://www.mchenrycountyil.gov/departments/sheriff/Pages/MComm.aspx These three are officers of the Commission: Chair, Secretary and Vice-Chairperson, respectively.

Backgrounds of the remaining two Commissioners (William Mack and Brian Goode) are not described on the webpage. Each has been a member of the Merit Commission since August 2002.

Merit Commission fizzles today

The Regular Meeting for October of the Merit Commission of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department was scheduled for 10:30AM today.

Several people made it - two commissioners, the secretary for the Commission, one staff member of the Sheriff's Department, and two visitors.

One commissioner had apparently indicated a planned absence, another commissioner was MIA, and the Chairperson of the Commission didn't make it. The Chairperson, Janelle Crowley, HR Director of the City of Woodstock, was apparently stuck in a directors' meeting at City Hall. (Wouldn't a scheduling conflict be obvious?) So those who were present for the scheduled meeting sat around until 10:50AM and then were informed that the meeting would not be held (no quorum) and that it would be re-scheduled.

The last meeting of the Merit Commission was April 8, 2009, six months ago. There were numerous items on the Agenda for today that needed attention, including approval of the April 8 Minutes.

At the April 8 meeting one commissioner asked about training in the Freedom of Information Act rules. Since no meeting has been held in six months, presumably nothing in the way of FOIA training has taken place.

A guest asked why the Merit Commission had not met in six months. Apparently, there was no business to discuss, and thus money was saved by not paying the per diem and mileage for commissioners to drive over to the County's Administration Building just for coffee.

However, it seems to me that there was business to discuss. There are numerous legal actions in the works that involve the Merit Commission and the Sheriff's Department. The attorney for the Merit Commission must need direction and authorization. From whom does she get that, if the Commission does not meet?

In fact, just yesterday there was a hearing relative to a matter involving the Merit Commission. The Commission should have met this morning to receive a report from its attorney on that hearing (Schlenkert vs. MCSD and McHenry County).

Until this morning I was unaware that Merit Commission members were compensated by per diem for attending meetings. If a member of a public body (the Merit Commission) is compensated for a meeting that is regularly held during the normal business hours of her job with a City that pays her for working for the City, should that compensation be handed over to the City, which allows her to leave her place of work and travel to and attend that meeting? Of course, it may already be the case that she does hand over that compensation or waive it.

Merit Commission non-compliance with OMA

An open letter to the Chairperson and Commissioners of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission:

It appears to me that the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission is out of compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) provision that requires the posting online of Minutes of Regular and Special Meetings. Following are the meeting dates since February 2007 for which there appear to be compliance problems.

June 13, 2007 Under the Minutes link, the Agenda is posted again. No Minutes are posted for the June 13th meeting.

July 13, 2007 No Agenda and No Minutes are posted, but Minutes are approved in the August 8, 2007 Minutes.

July 20, 2007 No Agenda and No Minutes are posted, but Minutes are approved in the August 8, 2007 Minutes.

November 14, 2007 No Minutes are posted.

November 20, 2007 No Minutes are posted.

December 21, 2007 No Minutes are posted.

October 8, 2008 No Minutes are posted.

October 21, 2008 No Minutes are posted.

November 8, 2008 No Minutes are posted.

Will you please post Minutes online for these meetings? Thank you.

Sincerely,
Gus Philpott

Merit Commission Goings-on - 2007

All this business re-surfacing about the aftermath of the Red Mill Inn drinking party got me thinking more about the delay in the approval of the October 21, 2008 Minutes of the Merit Commission, and I went back through online Minutes of Merit Commission meetings from February 2007. If there are any other nit-pickers out there who follow things from A-Z, you’ll enjoy reading what follows.

It’s obvious that members of the public never read those Minutes or ask questions. Where do you find the Minutes? Go to co.mchenry.il.us and scroll to the bottom of the homepage. Click on “Board Calendars”. Select the year and then the month, and click on that. In that monthly calendar, choose the Commission you’d like to examine (e.g., Merit Commission) and then click on Minutes.

OK, so to go back to February 2007, as that could have been the earliest Merit Commission meeting after the uproar following the drinking party at the Red Mill Inn at the end of January (the one the Woodstock Police were not called about).

February 7, 2007 Canceled

March 14, 2007. Decision in Executive Session to hold a hearing in Deputy Schlenkert matter on April 11.

April 11, 2007. No quorum present, yet Minutes were approved. Bills were authorized for payment. Schlenkert matter scheduled for May 9. HOW DOES A PUBLIC BODY TRANSACT BUSINESS WHEN NO QUORUM IS PRESENT?

May 9, 2007. Canceled

June 13, 2007 Under the Minutes link, the Agenda is posted again (not the Minutes). NO MINUTES are posted for the June 13th meeting.

June 30, 2007 (Saturday; Special Meeting scheduled at 3:00PM) Meeting opened at 2:18PM. Payment of bills authorized. Eligibility list matters. Adjourned at 2:20PM. ANY PROBLEM ABOUT MEETING EARLY, BEFORE PUBLIC OR MEDIA COULD ARRIVE?

July 11, 2007 Canceled

August 8, 2007 Minutes of July 13 and July 20 meetings were approved. WHAT JULY 13 AND JULY 20 MEETINGS? THE MEETINGS ARE NOT ON CALENDAR. NOT ANNOUNCED? NO MINUTES are posted online for these two meetings. What business was conducted on those dates? Why weren’t the Minutes posted??? Deputy Schlenkert and his FOP attorney, Gary Bailey, were present on August 8. New Business: Special Assistant State’s Attorney (SASA) Susan Connor informed the Merit Commission of a new complaint filed by the sheriff on July 19, 2007. SASA Connor, the regular attorney for the Merit Commission, stated she cannot represent the Merit Commission in the complaint because she had been asked to defend the County. She recommended Vito LoVerde to be retained as independent council. He was present and was appointed. The Merit Commission tabled the sheriff’s request to suspend Schlenkert without pay until September 12.

September 12, 2007 County Board member and member of the Law & Justice Committee James Kennedy attended. Merit Commission voted to suspend Schlenkert without pay and to hold a status update hearing on the judgement issue on November 14.

October 10, 2007 Additional funding to be requested from County Board

November 14, 2007 An Agenda is shown for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED. Remember? On September 12 a status update hearing in Schlenkert’s case was to be held on November 14. Was it? What decision was reached?

November 20, 2007 An Agenda is posted for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED.

December 5, 2007 Canceled

December 12, 2007 The Merit Commission was informed of “a considerable number of failures on the Sergeant and Lieutenant promotional exams." There was no problem with the testing instrument. The majority of failures occurred on the oral presentation.

December 21, 2007 An Agenda is posted for this meeting, but NO MINUTES ARE POSTED.

Why did I start through this? I’ve forgotten. Oh, yes, trying to find record of the disciplinary actions taken following the Red Mill Inn drinking party. I guess there is no record with the Merit Commission.

Merit Commission Goings-on – 2008/2009

If you are brave enough to keep reading and connecting the dots, here goes with more of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Merit Commission activities, as found recorded in available online Minutes.

To find the Minutes, go to co.mchenry.il.us and scroll to the bottom of the homepage. Click on “Board Calendars”. Select the year and then the month, and click on that. In that monthly calendar, choose the Commission you’d like to examine (e.g., Merit Commission) and then click on Minutes.

So, what happened in 2008?

January 9, 2008 The Minutes of the December 21, 2007 meeting were approved. WHAT MINUTES? They need to be posted!

February 13, 2008 Re-scheduled to February 23, 2007

February 23, 2008 (Saturday) Two attorneys were present: Susan Connor and Vito Loverde. Go back to the Minutes for August 8, 2007, when Susan Connor said she could not represent the Merit Commission (but she will represent the County in that legal matter) and she recommended the Merit Commission retain Vito Loverde. From the Minutes, “The Commission discussed pending litigation. Ms. Connor informed the Commission that when a case is placed on Administrative Review, the case is reviewed by a judge and the judge will rule based on the documents presented.” WHAT DOES IT COST TO GET TWO ATTORNEYS TO A MERIT COMMISSION MEETING ON A SATURDAY AT 3:00PM FOR 27 MINUTES? Is this a different legal matter?

March 12, 2008 Canceled at the February 23 meeting.

April 9, 2008 Canceled

May 14, 2008 Recruiting efforts were discussed. Merit Commission approved a request to purchase 1,000 ball-point pens for up to $3,000 for use in recruiting.

I think I’d like to get in line for that contract! Promotional pens ought to cost about $.25, not $3.00! What job applicant more seriously considers a police recruiter because he gets a ball-point pen???

June 11, 2008 Canceled

July 9, 2008 Canceled

Why am I doing this? Oh, yes, still looking for that disciplinary action…

August 13, 2008 Sheriff requested entry-level patrol exam ASAP and promotional exams for Sergeant and Lieutenant to be completed by January. Attorney Connor provided an update on pending litigation (parties not named). Plaintiff’s brief has been filed. Defendant’s reply due by September (?) deadline. Hearing October 15, 2008.

[Who is involved? Is this Schlenkert or the one where Attorney Connor could not represent the Merit Commission?]

September 10, 2008 Canceled

October 8, 2008 Agenda is published. NO MINUTES for this meeting.

October 21, 2008 Agenda is published. NO MINUTES for this meeting. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE OCTOBER 15TH HEARING?

November 8, 2008 NO MINUTES. DID THEY APPROVE THE OCTOBER 21 MINUTES AT THAT MEETING?

November 12, 2008 Re-scheduled to November 8, 2007 (Saturday; Patrol testing?)

December 10, 2008 Canceled

January 14, 2009 Canceled

February 11, 2009 Canceled WHAT HAPPENED TO SHERIFF’S AUGUST 13TH REQUEST FOR SERGEANT AND LIEUTENANT PROMOTIONAL EXAMS TO BE COMPLETED BY JANUARY?

March 11, 2009 Canceled

Why did I start through this? I’ve forgotten again. Oh, yes, trying to find some record of the disciplinary actions taken following the Red Mill Inn drinking party. Looks like they never made it to the Merit Commission. Was that because no deputy complained about the discliplinary action? Does the Merit Commission consider all disciplinary actions or only those that are contested?

When deputies drink, drive, lose control

In the article below titled, "If the public only knew..." several incidents are mentioned. Some I already knew about; some were new to me.

In the first, I had heard about the incident shortly after the drinking party near the end of January 2007 at the Red Mill Inn, on Lake Avenue in Woodstock. When I heard that a female deputy had been pushed down by a deputy of higher rank who was allegedly DUI, causing re-injury to her shoulder, I went to Chief Bob Lowen at the Woodstock PD and asked if he had heard about it.

Chief Lowen told me that he hadn't heard of it and that he would look into it. Later he told me that he had had an investigator look into it and that the investigator had not been able to confirm my information.

Later I was told by others that the Woodstock Police had not been called. I'm a little surprised that the WPD investigator wasn't able to learn what had happened. Maybe he was stone-walled when he approached the Sheriff's Department about it.

How does it happen that a drunk deputy can assault another deputy and not be held accountable for it, except by internal, administrative discipline?

And now that I think about the Purpose of the Merit Commission, did any discipline administered within the Sheriff's Department reach the Merit Commission? Did it have to approve suspensions that resulted from that night's "activities"?

It's time to check the online Minutes of Merit Commission meetings.

Stay tuned.

Where are the meeting Minutes???

I have begun following the actions of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission and the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commission. These public bodies meet regularly and are subject to the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA).

Each Commission is to report publicly all decisions made. Each regularly holds Executive Sessions, during which they discuss personnel issues out of public view; this is permitted in the OMA.

At the conclusion of the Executive Session each must re-convene its open meeting and report decisions that were made in private. This is what is supposed to happen. At the next meeting Minutes are approved and then posted online for the public to view.

On September 8, 2008, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners met. No Minutes have yet been published.

On October 21, 2008, the Merit Commission met. No Minutes have yet been published.

The reason?

Neither body has held a public meeting since, when it would have approved the Minutes of the previous meeting.

In the case of the Board of Fire and Police Commissions the only significant action was to establish the dates for the 2009 Regular Meetings. Because these Minutes were never approved, the 2009 Schedule of (Board and Commission) Meetings for the City of Woodstock does not include the Regular Meetings.

Instead, the 2009 Schedule of Meetings indicates that the Commission will meet as needed and directs one to call the police department telephone number to inquire about meeting dates. However, the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners met on March 2 and will hold Regular Meetings on June 1, September 8 and December 7. (A Special Meeting will be held today, March 12, at 5:00PM at police headquarters.)

And the Merit Commission? On October 21, 2008, the Merit Commission, which held (in my opinion) an illegal meeting because not one Commissioner was in the meeting room, voted to support the sheriff's decision to fire a deputy. That decision has never been formally reported, because the Minutes have never been approved and released.

The reason? The Merit Commission has not held a regularly-scheduled meeting since October 21.

The November 12th meeting was re-scheduled (advanced) to November 8. Why didn't it approve the October 21st Minutes at that meeting. Or did it?
The December 10th meeting was canceled.
The January 14th meeting was canceled.
The February 11th meeting was canceled.
The March 11th meeting was canceled.

Will the April 8th meeting be held as scheduled?

Have there been no disciplinary actions within the Sheriff's Department since October 21? Doesn't the Merit Commission take notice of lawsuits filed against the Sheriff's Department?

Commissions must find a way to approve Minutes promptly after meeting and release them to the public and the media. Minutes could be forwarded the following day to members of the Commission and approved by email consent.

Without that prompt release, there is high concern for transparency.

Merit Commission Canceled - AGAIN

Today's meeting of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission earns five demerits for canceling its March meeting! You may recall that it canceled its February meeting on short notice and after publishing an Agenda for that meeting.

Perhaps the name of this Commission needs to be changed!

As some may know, this is not an independent public body of McHenry County Government, as are other County commissions operating under the name "Commission".

Unlike the 3-man, City Council-appointed, Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commission, it's sort of like a private party of five friends of Sheriff Nygren who are appointed by him. The five members are not selected by the County Board; they are handpicked by the Sheriff.

In view of yet one more lawsuit filed against the McHenry County Sheriff's Department, why isn't this Merit Commission holding its meetings? Might members of the public or the media want to ask some pointed questions?

On December 1, 2008, a McHenry County judge dismissed a case against a woman who had been charged with two counts of resisting arrest back on April 17. The State's Attorney asked for this case to be dismissed because two sheriff's deputies (Lt. Miller and Sgt. Penna) failed to show up in court to testify against her. The defendant's attorney objected to the dismissal, but the judge dismissed the case, anyway.

Why isn't the sheriff taking disciplinary action against a lieutenant and a sergeant who failed to show up in court, after having been given Notice to Appear? Would they have raised their right hands, sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and then said exactly the same thing written in the reports following the arrest?

It will be a while before the answer to that is known, if ever. A civil rights case in U.S. District Court Northern District by Susan O'Grady is just getting started.

Isn't their failure to appear in court considered a serious infraction? What if a non-supervisory deputy had been ordered to court to testify against a person he had charged with resisting arrest and he hadn't shown up? What if that deputy had been questioning some of the actions of other deputies who might have been breaking laws while they were supposed to be enforcing them? Would he be standing at attention before the Merit Commission? You bet!

Why isn't the Sheriff hauling Miller and Penna before Merit Commission? Has either one been there before?

The County Board should create its own "Merit Commission" for the Sheriff's Department and appoint five civilians who will consider all matters fully independently, on behalf of the employees of the Sheriff's Department AND the public. Maybe it could be called something like McHenry County Sheriff's Department Internal Affairs Commission?

Minutes of the Merit Commission meetings should be posted on the County's website where anyone, civilian or County employee, can read them. An employee of the Sheriff's Department is quite unlikely to approach the administration and ask to read the Minutes of meetings of the Merit Commission.

Just imagine how high on the popularity list his name would be, if he did so.

NWH carries Schlenkert lawsuit news

The Northwest Herald carried an article about fired Deputy Robert Schlenkert's lawsuit against the McHenry County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday, February 23, the day after it was filed.

Reader comments seem to me to be more local.

Check it out here: www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/02/24/r_l1blu6yreyopjh8eaqsuq/

Somehow, I kind of wonder about two of the UserIDs in use by those who are commenting. Pretty clever, though. "keithN" and "geneL" - probably not the Keith N. and Gene L. at the top of the heap at the sheriff's department.

The comments to that article are worth reading.

The Merit Commission either originally fired Deputy Schlenkert (although it really didn't, because it never was his employer) or supported his firing by the Sheriff. Go to the County's website, then to the Sheriff's webpages, and look up the Purpose of the Merit Commission. Did it give Schlenker a fair hearing and a fair decision?

I can't help wondering whether, had the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission members been independently selected and appointed by the County Board, rather than hand-picked and appointed by the Sheriff, it might have made a totally different decision in Deputy Schlenkert's case.

I myself believe that it would have decided in Schlenkert's favor. But had it done so, would the Sheriff have filed suit in McHenry County to duke it out with the Commission of his own Department, thus still wasting taxpayer dollars? And would such a lawsuit have still been deemed "arbitrary and unreasonable" by the judge?

Ka-ching, ka-ching. Sheriff to appeal...

A quick trip to the McHenry County Courthouse this afternoon uncovered the initial steps by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission and Sheriff Nygren to appeal their loss in Judge McIntyre's courtroom in the 2008 case of Schlenkert v. Merit Commission, the five individually-named members of the Commission and the sheriff.

Notice has been filed of their intent to appeal the decision to the Illinois Appellate Court, Second Judicial District. March 2, 2009, is the next action date on the case; this is the due date for the record on appeal.

Isn't there any such thing in law enforcement as being a good loser?

Judge McIntyre slammed the Merit Commission and the Sheriff and ruled that the Merit Commission's decision to fire Deputy Schlenkert for cause was "arbitrary and unreasonable." Those are very strong words!

How many taxpayer dollars have been spent so far in a case that the judge called "arbitrary and unreasonable"? How many more taxpayer dollars will be spent?

I wish I had the time to dissect the testimony and the judge's decision. I looked through the two files at the courthouse today. Just skimming them was enough to give me an idea of the baseless claims against Schlenkert.

Perhaps every deputy should go up to the third floor and read through the testimony that contributed to Judge McIntyre's decision. Read who said what and who told whom to do what.

Obviously, each deputy is not going up to the third floor to do that. Maybe I'll buy a copy of the transcript and donate it to the Woodstock library, so that deputies can go and read it without fear of retribution or retaliation. If I do so, I'll ask the library to require ID or a deposit, so that it doesn't "grow legs" and take a hike out the door.

The next question is, how and when did the Merit Commission meet and decide to file an Appeal? Did they hold a secret meeting? Did they hold a public meeting, in compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, and discuss their loss in Judge McIntyre's court? Did they discuss the merits of an appeal and, more importantly, the cost of an appeal and any likelihood of success?

Or, instead, did the public trough just cough up the anticipated expenses of an Appeal and green-light the legal work? When a public body (the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission) is involved, how can it approve costly and lengthy legal work without meeting to discuss it and without taking a vote?

Understanding that the five members of the Merit Commission serve at the pleasure of the sheriff, their approval of any request he might make for an appeal would most likely get their rubber stamp. You know the one. The one with the big red "OK" on it. But should they approve this appeal?

Let's hope the Merit Commission doesn't cancel the March 11th meeting. Maybe answers to some of these questions can be learned.

Schlenkert 1, Merit Commission 0; but ...

When the McHenry County Sheriff's Department's Merit Commission canceled today's Regular Meeting that was scheduled for 10:30AM, it removed the opportunity for me to ask what the plans of the Merit Commission are for ordering Sheriff Nygren to put Deputy Bob Schlenkert back on duty.

On December 17, 2008, Judge Maureen McIntyre issued her Decision in Case No. 08MR21. The case was ROBERT SCHLENKERT, Plaintiff, vs. SHERIFFI'S (sic) MERIT COMMISSION OF MCHENRY COUNTY, the five Commissioners by name, KEITH NYGREN, Sheriff of McHenry County, and COUNTY OF McHENRY. In her Decision Judge McIntyre ruled that the decision by the Merit Commission to terminate Deputy Schlenkert for cause was "arbitary and unreasonable." And further, "IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Decision of the Sheriff's Merit Commission of McHenry County is reversed."

If the public knew about this decision by Judge McIntyre (and they could know, because it is public record), what would the public expect?

The public would expect that the Merit Commission, at its next Regular Meeting, would direct the Sheriff to put Deputy Schlenkert back to work and pay him all his back pay.

Except the Merit Commission canceled its January 14th Regular Meeting. So much for stepping up the mark in January.

But it had another chance to discuss Judge McIntyre's decision today and to carry out its Purpose. Did it do so? No, yesterday it canceled the February Regular Meeting.

Why would the Merit Commission not meet in January or February to discuss this important legal decision? Does the Merit Commission have any independence? Does the public know that the members of the Merit Commission are appointed by the Sheriff, not by the County Board?

Just what is the Purpose of the Merit Commission?

"PURPOSE: To ensure the citizens of McHenry County that there is a fair and equal opportunity system for the employment, promotion, discipline and discharge of full-time Deputy Sheriffs."

The Merit Commission is not fulfilling its Purpose. Judge McIntyre ruled against the Merit Commission. The firing of Deputy Schlenkert for cause was "arbitrary and unreasonable." Why is the Merit Commission failing to meet and to direct Sheriff Nygren to put Deputy Schlenkert back on duty?

Sheriff's Merit Commission - Booo

This morning the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission was to meet at 10:30AM in the Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock. This Commission meets monthly in Regular Meetings, and these meetings appear on the County Government Calendar at http://co.mchenry.il.us

Occasionally, these Regular Meetings are canceled. About three days before a meeting the Agenda for the meeting is linked from the Calendar, so that interested parties can be informed of items and matters for discussion.

When the Agenda was posted last week, I placed this meeting on my own schedule and arranged to be in Woodstock. Should County residents and citizens have a reasonable expectation that a public Commission will meet as scheduled, once the Agenda appears?

Yes. I'll say that again. YES.

So, imagine my surprise when I arrived at the meeting room this morning and found it dark. Not a soul. Not a whisper. Not a telephone set up, in case they were going to meet telephonically. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.

I hunted down the secretary for the Merit Commission in the County HR Department and learned that the meeting was canceled yesterday. (The January 2009 meeting was also canceled.) I could have checked the County Calendar this morning, but why should I? The meeting was on it; the Agenda was published.

Why was I there today?

I wanted to ask why they held an illegal meeting on October 21, 2008. I wanted to ask for assurance that the Commission would not attempt to hold a meeting illegally in the future.

More importantly, I wanted to ask if action taken at an illegally-held meeting was valid.

I wanted to ask if the Commissioners were aware of Judge McIntyre's December 17, 2008 Order, in which Judge McIntyre ruled against the Merit Commission.

I wanted to ask whether the Merit Commission would be ordering Sheriff Nygren to put Deputy Robert Schlenkert back on duty.

I'll write in more detail about these two topics in separate postings.

Will they meet in March?

Merit Commission Website - Stale!

Should the public be able to rely on information provided on local government agency webpages? Of course, it should be able to. But should the public rely on it?

Recently I was thinking about the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission and its Regular Meetings. The dates for Regular Meetings are found with other commission meetings on the County Board's Calendar. But only the date and time are found there; not where the meetings are held.

That's fairly important; right? How can you show up at the right place, if the wrong place is published?

On the Merit Commission's webpage (http://co.mchenry.il.us/common/CountyDpt/Sheriff/shrMCommission.asp), information is clearly provided that the Regular Meetings (as distinguished from Special Meetings) are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30AM in Room B120 of the Government Center, 2200 N. Seminary Ave. (Route 47), Woodstock.

Now that's pretty clear. Everyone knows where the Government Center is. It's easy to find. It's the big building on the east side of the street with the big parking lot.

Now there is just one problem. That's not where the meetings are.

How did I learn this?

Knowing that cameras and recording devices cannot be taken into the Government Center, I called Chief Parth of the courthouse security division. I knew about the restriction, and he confirmed it. He directed me to Chief Judge Sullivan's office, if I wanted to be excepted from the restriction.

The Illinois Open Meetings Act allows recording and photography at public meetings, so I called Judge Sullivan's office to find out how to get a Permit or an Authorization to take a camera and a recorder to the Regular Meetings of the Merit Commission in the Government Center.

I received excellent assistance at Chief Judge Sullivan's office. Yesterday I was promised a call back, and today I received the call. AND the information that the meetings are not held in the Government Center, but there are held in the Administrative Building at 667 Ware Road!

So, how long has the information on the Merit Commission's webpage been out-of-date?

Does the incorrect information constitute a violation of the Open Meetings Act by misdirecting a reader to the wrong location for a Regular Meeting of the Commission?

While an Agenda (a clickable link for the Agenda is placed on the County Board's Calendar a few days before the meeting) might (and probably does) show the correct location, the webpage of the Commission also needs to show the correct information. Let's hope the Merit Commission corrects this without delay.

Schlenkert Case - to be appealed?

Recently a reader offered a guess that Deputy Schlenkert's favorable decision in court will most likely be appealed by the McHenry County Merit Commission.

You mean that Deputy Schlenkert won't go back to work right away? The sheriff rolled the dice and came up short in court. Why not suck it up and put an experienced deputy back to work without further delay? He doesn't carry any grudges, does he?

Just exactly how does the Merit Commission function and whom does it represent? Isn't it like the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners in Woodstock, which is composed of three civilians appointed by the City Council? Citizens who are supposed to be impartial and independent of the Woodstock Police Department (and who, based on a February 2008 decision, really are independent)?

This reader wrote, "The Merit Commission is a rubber stamp for the Sheriff. They are puppets that would not dare question the Sheriff's desires." Is this true? If so, why even have such a commission?

The writer also called attention to the physical appearance of different personnel at the sheriff's department and questioned whether any of the command personnel could pass reasonable fitness standards for deputies in the field.

Recently an officer in a neighboring community died on duty, apparently from over-exertion. He had chased a suspect and grappled with him. As I recall, the cause of his death was a heart attack. From the head photo in the newspaper the officer appeared to be somewhat "stout."

I recall the physique of the Ohio sheriff who spoke at MCC several months ago. He was slender and appeared to be in excellent physical health.

Chief Webster sends his firefighters and paramedics to the Woodstock Rec Center to work out; hopefully they will avoid over-exerting themselves when fighting a fire or carrying a heavy patient.

Illinois has no physical fitness standards for deputies after they are hired. As I recall from Judge McIntyre's ruling in the Schlenkert case, neither does the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

Perhaps this is a requirement that we should have here in McHenry County (and in Woodstock).

Deputy Schlenkert v. Merit Commission

Just before closing this afternoon, the decision became available and the Circuit Court clerk's office printed off a copy for me of the decision in Case No. 08 MR 21, Deputy Bob Schlenkert versus the Sheriff's Department Merit Commission.

Let's skip to the bottom line.

Judge Maureen IcIntyre ruled on December 17, 2009 (sic) - (oops! No doubt she meant 2008!) that the "...Decision of the Sheriff's Merit Commission was arbitrary and unreasonable in terminating Deputy Schlenkert for cause. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Decision of the Sheriff's Merit Commission of McHenry County is reversed."

In a 10-page decision on Wednesday Judge McIntyre ruled in Deputy Schlenkert's favor in Case No. 08 MR 21, filed by Deputy Schlenkert against the SHERIFF'S MERIT COMMISSION OF McHENRY COUNTY, JANELLE CROWLEY, Chairperson, PATRICK McANDREWS, GLORIA URCH, WILLIAM MACK and BRIAN GOODE, Members of the Sheriff's Merit Commission of McHenry County, KEITH NYGREN, Sheriff of McHenry County, and COUNTY OF McHENRY, Kenneth Koehler, Chairman.

Deputy Schlenkert has been a McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy since January 1990 and has been fighting to keep his job since May 2007. Because Schlenkert was off on medical leave for approximately two years, Sheriff Nygren decided that Schlenkert had to go back through the entire basic 12-week (480-hour) academy required of new recruits for law enforcement certification.

Although there are no State requirements for physical fitness and none at the sheriff's department, there is a "POWER" test required to be admitted to the academy. The POWER test is not a fitness-for-duty test or a physical fitness test, according to Judge McIntyre's decision. Schlenkert was already certified as a law enforcement officer, and there are no state standards or requirements for continuing education or training to maintain police certification.

The court record in this case included testimony by Sheriff Nygren, Undersheriff Lowery, and Sergeant Wagner.

Component training of academy content is offered in 40-hour blocks of time. Why would a deputy with more than 15 years' experience and already certified as as Illinois peace officer be required to go all the way back through basic training? If a refresher were needed for certain new information, he could attend only those 40-hour blocks, saving the sheriff's department considerable money in several different ways.

Sheriff Nygren had attempted to fire Schlenkert "for cause." However, Judge McIntyre found that Schlenkert did not refuse to comply with Sheriff Nygren's order regarding academy training. "On the contrary, (he) attempted to comply but failed..." certain components of physical activities required only to enter the academy (but not to participate in the 40-hour blocks of component training mentioned above).

Importantly, the Decision continued, Schlenkert's "failure to pass the test did not disqualify him from performing his duties as a certified police officer as he was neither physically or mentally unfit for duty." In other words, he was fit for duty, both physically and mentally!

Judge McIntyre's decision continues that Schlenkert is not unfit for duty and that there is nothing to indicate that he cannot adequately fulfill his duties as a deputy. "His discharge was not based on substantial misconduct or insubordination."

"This Court finds that Decision of the Sheriff's Merit Commission was arbitrary and unreasonable in terminating Deputy Schlenkert for cause."

So, how does the Merit Commission, chaired by a person who is a full-time Human Resources manager, reach such a decision?

Maybe some of you readers have an answer to this question.

Merit Commission at S/O?

The regularly-scheduled, November meeting of the Merit Commission of the Sheriff's Department, to be held today at 10:30AM, is on the County calendar.

Only now it is not scheduled for today. The meeting has apparently been re-scheduled to November 8 at 3:00PM. Of course, there are immediate problems with that date.

The date is a Saturday.
More importantly, the date is four days AGO.

Since the meeting on the calendar is noted as "rescheduled" and not as "canceled", presumably the legal notice was given by posting the new date in a public place and by notifying the media, as required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Why would this Commission meet on a Saturday? And why would it meet four days before its regular-scheduled meeting?

Something smells, and I don't think it's last week's fish.

Sheriff's Dept. Merit Commission

This afternoon I headed over to the Government Center's Annex Building at 3:00PM for the meeting of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission. Billed as a (well, not actually billed as anything) meeting, an Agenda was published and could be viewed online and printed. The day, date and time were correct. The Agenda should have carried Special Meeting on it.

Upon arrival the guard directed me to Room 210. As I hit the first step, he called across the lobby and told me to go to Room 204. At 204 a woman told me to go to 210. Good thing I'm used to being told where to go!

Imagine my surprise when only a secretary was in the meeting room, awaiting a telephone connection. She explained that today's meeting was to be a teleconference. Three o'clock came and went, while the administrative assistant to the Commission struggled in her office to transfer the call from her phone to the speaker phone in the small conference room.

Those on the phone were informed that a visitor was present, and the attorney for the Commission explained that the Commission would go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue, which I knew would be the case from the agenda. And I was informed that I would have to step out of the meeting during the Executive Session, which I knew.

The Commission almost didn't have a quorum. Maybe it really did not have a legal quorum. Commissioner Gloria Urch was attending remotely; really remotely. She couldn't get onto the conference call, so she was on another phone line from which she could presumably hear the proceedings and relay her questions and votes via a person who was on the conference call.

Is this legal?

But surprise! A motion was called for to enter Executive Session. What happened to the items on the Agenda for today's meeting? The Minutes from Previous Meetings? Payment of Bills? Public Participation? New Business?

The Executive Session almost didn't happen, but no one was quick to second the motion to go into it. That was, to me, unusual. Perhaps had they all been sitting in one room, staring at one another, no one would have seconded it, and it would have died right there. But finally a man did second the motion and a rollcall vote was taken.

Did the Commissioners know in advance whose personnel issue was to be discussed in Executive Session? Is it appropriate to reveal to them outside of a meeting what is going on? Or should that juicy information be held until it drops on them when they are gathered?

Should Commission meetings be held by telephone conference? Is it even legal to do so? Has the Commission ever acted legally to approve meeting by telephone? I mean, ALL of them meeting by telephone and no one showing up in the meeting place?

An exception might be made for one to attend by telephone upon advance notice, such as an out-of-town business trip, but it seems to me that the Commission would have to decide in advance to allow attendance by telephone. Has it done so?

One of the main reasons for them to meeting in person is that each can see all the others. Facial expressions are important, as is body language.

And meeting by telephone? I wonder how many emails, instant messages and text-messages were sent among Commissioners, when they heard I was there. Well, maybe none, since only the Chairman may have known my name before the meeting.

I was asked who I was before the meeting started. Was anyone else attending by telephone? No one else was introduced. Was the deputy and/or his attorney on the phone when the call was transferred into the conference room?

When the Executive Session adjourned, a voice over the telephone stated that the "officer" (deputy) had been represented by counsel and the counsel had filed an Appearance. Read, legalese. A Special Limited Appearance was filed and the case was continued to February 18, 2009, 10:30AM at the Regular Meeting of the Merit Commission.

Stay tuned for more information about the matter that was continued to February 18. It's only four months from now...

Oh, by the way, when I asked the recording secretary to whom I might address questions, she suggested addressing them to Susan Connor, the attorney for the Commission. I gave her my card and she said Susan would call me. I'm still waiting...